I’ve been avoiding writing for a little while. It has been a bit of a challenge recently to process what I am thinking and feeling. Last Thursday, I had a follow up appointment with a neurosurgeon that I am still working through, but I don’t want to be too far removed from it to remember… Read More My Brain: An Update

If you work with, know, or love someone who lives with chronic illness and have not heard of spoon theory, I encourage you to take the time to read up on it now. Spoon theory is a helpful tool that illustrates the ways that the choices we make impact our energy and well being, often in… Read More Salt and Saving Spoons

You think you are normal. Until you realize you are not. I always thought getting winded, being covered in bruises, being in constant pain of some sort, not sweating, and being tired all day, every day was normal. I had no reason to believe it wasn’t. Or rather, no one believed me enough to help… Read More A New Normal

I was diagnosed with Chiari Malformation at 12 years old and had decompression surgery not long after. In high school I had recurrent symptoms. Headaches came back, dizziness, bladder spasms. We went back to my neurosurgery and had more MRI’s done. Everything looked normal, so nothing to worry about. Symptoms were occurring less frequently than before… Read More Where I’m At and How I Got Here

In medical school doctors are taught, “When you hear hoof beats think horses, not zebras.” The phrase is meant to caution doctors and prevent misdiagnosis. The most common answer is probably the right one. In general, this seems like pretty good advice, but sometimes hoof beats mean zebras. When it comes to diagnosis, sometimes the… Read More How To Spot A Zebra

It is one of those days. It might be one of those weeks. My head is spinning. It feels like I am on a tilt-a-whirl at an amusement park. The ceiling fan is spinning the wrong way. I move in two directions at once at different speeds. Where is up? Does sound ever give you… Read More Spinning

The process of diagnosis often feels like it moves in reverse. It is like being given 1000 puzzle pieces. The pieces are clearly laid out in front of you, but you don’t know which pieces are significant, how they fit together, or if all of these pieces even belong to the same puzzle. Symptoms include… Read More What is Ehlers Danlos Syndrome?